being such a young deadhead, this was my first concert, and it lived up to all my dreams. They were soo on that night, it was unbelievable. Thanx alot for puttin this concert up for me to listen to

Quick review: 5* performance, 2* sound. Unbroken Chain > Let It Grow, in itself, could have been the highlight of the tour. But, sound is thin, lacks "oomph" and high end, especially for a FOB. I much prefer the sound on the Schoeps version.

Similar to another another reviewer I caught more than a few P+F shows from '99-'01, and was a bit disappointed with what I'd heard from the last 1 1/2 years. This show is a wonderful shocker. I think if Phil can continue to pull off the "surprise line-up" approach and on the fly reinterpretations of GD tunes along with continued smokin' free improvisation this may be a remarkable year. Yes the tape quality is less than favorable, but not enough to subtract more than one star.

i was lucky to catch all 3 nights @ the Tower. Friday night was lackluster at best, but what they came out with Saturday was the bomb. Then to come back with this on sunday night was a real treat. There is something about Philly, whenever the boys are in the area ther going to do something special, you could almost bank on it! is there any copys of Saturday nights show sufacing, I haven't seen it any where. Any who, the chain, ruben, stephen ,Other 1, and shelter are all good, and this copy is good enough to listen too, 3.5 out of 5

sunday night was surprisingly not sold out ....but this was indeed a great show!!! has anyone seen or heard anything about the saturday night show? its the only night on the tour i cant seem to find?

I was supposed to got to this show - but I left it to a friend to pulloff hot seats and he failed -arghhhh NEVER AGAIN ....unbroken chain, rueben and cherise, gimme shelter whaaathafaa!!!! gee and don't forget Stephen, Other One & Dark Star!!! H-S!!! ... and a magnolia mt. nice to see Phil digging into a tune that could fit right into American Beauty wow......

The only show I caught this tour, but what a show to catch. This is the one that didn't get away. Opener Unbroken very nice, setting the stage for what is to come. A semi-bustout of Let it Grow, Rob a wee bit thin on vocals (reverb, anyone?). Magnolia Mountain very good -- this group does RA better than RA does himself, a big reason is Joan's soulful delivery. Larry & Barry hitting Jerry vibes on Reuben & Cerise, a real JG gem, a mystical ending to set one. Love P&F first sets.

Set II crowd went nuts for Gimme Shelter. Cryptical really hits it, Phil's vocals are on tonight. Very good St Stephen>11 (my first, btw), with the now-infamous "Funky Lady Jam" during the eleven, and a weird little funky jam leading into Turn Around. Turn Around kinda takes everybody back a step, but I feel like it's a good choice to pace this set; not yet halfway through, already St Stephen, gotta tone it down to crank it back up again, and crank it up they do on this version of the Other One, I think the best tune of the night. Phil rips an all-time bomb to get things rolling, and Larry just takes it to another place on the fiddle. Superb interplay and dynamics -- "on a bus to NEVER-EVERLAND" -- check out Phil's delivery here. Dark Star is truly Dark Star, not a Dead Lite version, but a meltdown, complete with feedback. After a Blues for Allah tease, Phil, Rob, & Joan take us through the spaciest second verse ever, ending on a beautiful harmony, also having found their harmony as a group during this tour, then rolling into a fast jam and completely discombobulating at the end to touch ground on UJB. UJB with Larry on fiddle, Phil, Joan & Rob on vocals harmonizing solidifies this set as an all time great. Barry hits some great runs on the t-wah guitar taking this tune out. NFA with Sipes on the floor tom a real rockin version. Where do these guys get the nrg for this serious groovin? Falls apart a little at the end, maybe they need to tune up the Bo Diddley Jungle Groove Vibatron for the next tour. Encore Franklins was a great topper, everybody musta thought it would be frank>slip>help

It ain't just the setlist, guys n gals, the delivery is choice. Like a fine wine, once this baby is decanted, it will wind its aroma through and through your palette.

I like the sound; it's pretty clear, no real noise. I run audience recordings split through a mixer between bass and treble into a stack of a bass amp and guitar amp, respectively. It pumps them up pretty well.

...to get a better sounding version of this one on here! This is, I think, the best P&F performance I've ever heard. But this tape sounds like mud (no offense to the recorder- it can't be helped taping from the audience). A nice clear recording of this one would be my new favorite CD for a long time to come.

Many of you may hate me for this others not. First time ive seen a phil show since i dunno a good date to time it by Nov 17 2001. A previous review described Phil as being the Grateful dead on steroids. Back then yea.....Coulda been some magical spirit. But to say the least i left friday night rather dissapointed, asking wheres that soul from warren or ripping Jimmy leads or Molo trumbling away. Thankfully sunday cleared my mind, undeniably an awesome vibe, show all around good feelings. If Phil was the Dead on Steroids this show was the dead on something unknown. Sent me away at ease as apposed to amped which in my opinion is always a good feeling after a show Thanks Phil.

STUNNING SHOW, STUNNING SOUND QUALITY
NO NEED TO SAY ANYMORE
AND I BID YOU GOODNIGHT........GOODNIGHT......GOODNIGHT

The sound on this source is relatively good. As an fob I would expect a bit better, and the levels are a bit low, so you'll have to up the volume to jam out.

Magnolia Mountain was unbelievable. By the end of the song I had fallen in love with Joan...even saw a guy with a "Joan Zone" shirt, ha ha. Phil pulled the band out of a jam that sent my mind spinning. With a wave of his hand, everyone dropped down leaving only Joan's sweet voice and a sharp, raspy guitar...the most beautiful sound I've ever heard.

All that, and Unbroken Chain>Let it Grow as an opener! Been waiting 11 years to hear Unbroken Chain!!

UNBROKEN OPENER, SWEET AND THEN LET IT GROW LET MY MIND GROW PHIL JAMMED AND PLAYED THE LAST 6 YEARS OF MY LIFE THROUGH HIS MUSIC, PEGGY O SO BEAUTIFUL GREAT JOB JOAN AND THE LATER ON THE RUEBEN , PHIL WAS MAGICAL THIS NITE IN PHILLY OR UPPER DARBY IF YOU MAY. THE SCENE WELL, STRANGERS STOPPING STRANGERS JUST TO SHAKE THEIR HANDS, PHIL BRINGS OUT THE BEST OF US! THE VIBE WAS ELECTRIFYING AND COMFORTABLE, ROB BARRACO HAS SOME CRAZY FINGERS OF HIS OWN AND WAS ON POINT HERE DARK STAR AND EVERYTHING IN BETWEEN AND THEN BRINGS DOWN THE TOWER WITH A FRANKILINS TOWER AND THAT WAS THAT ,CANT WAIT TO SEE PHIL AGAIN. ONLY AT THE CHAIN AS OF NOW SOUND GREAT AND SO DO THE REST OF THE SHOWS ON ARCHIVE FOR THE WHOLE TOUR WE R ALL VERY BLESSED FOR THIS MUSIC TO BE SO EASILY AVAILABLE FOR US! UNTIL NEXT TIME ENJOY!!!!! THIS IS THE BEST LISTEN NOW ! MY BUDDY DESCRIBED PHIL AS THE GRATEFUL DEAD ON STEROIDS!!!!